Rejoice With Us
This past Lord’s Day, August 24, MATTHEW JENKINS confessed his faith that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God and was immersed into Christ for the remission of his sins! Matt lives in the Indianapolis area but intends to worship with us every Lord’s Day morning. We welcome Matt to our family and commit to helping him grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ Jesus (2 Peter 3:18), even as his obedience has encouraged us to continue serving Him in all we say and do!
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There’s Just Enough Room for Some Articles!
I used most of the day trying to compose THOUGHTS WORTH THINKING. But as sometimes happens, “writer’s block” was abundant, so I decided to copy and paste an article from another gospel preacher. I chose three, each written by brethren I’ve known for years, and hold them in high esteem for their abilities. Since their work always prompts serious thoughts, I wanted to share at least one of the articles.
The first was an article that taught THANKFULNESS. When I consider this friend’s present adversities, I remain amazed at his spiritual strength and stamina. He had related to me the serious health conditions of his wife, and I could tell from this most recent article how he surely struggled to write such an honest yet poignant article.
The other preacher authored an article entitled, FORGIVE ME FATHER, FOR I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I’M DOING. It is an excellent satirical article describing how some “justify” their actions without regard to God’s commandments, but with the foolish notion that “it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission” for their actions. What a powerful discussion he makes in this writing that we must abide by Colossians 3:17 and Hebrews 10:26! And how I tried but failed to fit it into the brevity of available space within this publication!
Granted, I could add to the pages of this publication, but for years, I’ve accepted this format. Therefore, while I value these lengthier articles, there simply isn’t room. Frankly, I regret that fact! I’d love to share them with everyone, for they teach passionately God’s word. I keep them and will gladly share them with interested readers. I also use them as the starting points for sermons, giving thanks to God for the thoughts these brethren create, and giving credit to them for their work.
A third article I considered was written by a mentor I had many years ago. His work regards THE COMING JUDGMENT and makes us keenly aware that God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31). Many of his articles were published as “Short Sermons,” and I once had all three volumes of this author’s work. Again, I’ve used them to prompt sermons and other articles, but for here, they are too lengthy for the available space.
I think of what John said about the works of Jesus. As he closed his biography of Jesus, he wrote, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.” (John 21:25) I’m sure John would have loved to have written more. The same could be said of any writer of the New Testament. But the Spirit limited their writings to what we have (Revelation 22: 18 – 19), and as John said, “These things are written that ye might believe, and in believing have life through His name.” (John 20: 31)
The problem is not the length of the writing, but the desire of the readers to READ the writing! Just as with sermons and bible studies, some folks think anything more than twenty minutes is too long! Nonsense! If we love the Lord as much as we proclaim we do, then the time we devote to reading, listening to, or studying the word doesn’t matter! Yes, sometimes, there just isn’t enough room to share everything we want to share about God!